Assistant Director of Brand and Content Strategy

Vanderbilt University • Nashville, TN

2d

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Brand and Content Strategy is a leader on the Marketing and Communications team at the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management. The position leads institutional storytelling that drives demand, strengthens reputation, and builds long-term brand equity. The Assistant Director is responsible for defining and executing Owen’s brand narrative, content strategy, and owned and earned media approach across platforms and audiences. The role sets editorial direction, oversees organic and paid social strategy, and uses performance data to continuously refine priorities and impact, playing a critical role in establishing a cohesive, distinctive brand voice for Owen. Reporting to the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Owen, this role partners closely with the Office of the Dean, Strategic Enrollment Management, Academic and Student Affairs, Career Management Center, Leadership Development Programs, Development, Alumni Engagement, and University Communications teams, along with students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, corporate and community partners, media and rankings organizations, and more. The Owen Graduate School of Management (OGSM) is a professional school at Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee, focused on graduate-level business education. OGSM’s mission is to create opportunities for its faculty, staff, and students to discover, grow, and thrive in business and beyond. OGSM recognizes discovery in traditional forms, such as scholarly research, intellectual curiosity, and curricular learning. But it also celebrates discovery unique to the human experience, that is, the art of becoming, which is lived through a desire to connect with others, to find meaning in work and relationships, and to create something new. OGSM sees transformation as foundational. The Marketing and Communications team at the Owen Graduate School of Management serves as a strategic partner to the school’s enrollment, academic, advancement, and engagement efforts. The team is responsible for shaping and stewarding the Owen brand, translating strategy into clear messaging, and bringing the school’s people, programs, and impact to life across channels. The team blends brand strategy, content, creative, digital, analytics, and paid media to drive demand, strengthen reputation, and support institutional growth. Work is highly collaborative and cross-functional, with close partnerships across Owen, Vanderbilt, and external stakeholders. The culture of the team emphasizes strategic thinking, creative excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement, with a strong focus on measurable outcomes and long-term brand equity.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Demonstrated experience leading brand and content strategy in a complex organization is required
• Strong editorial judgment and storytelling skills across multiple formats and channels are required
• Experience managing social media strategy, including organic and paid integration, is required
• Experience using analytics and performance data to inform strategy is required

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education or mission-driven organizations is strongly preferred
• Experience managing and developing staff is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Establish Owen’s brand messaging framework and ensure consistent application across mediums and channels
• Develop and lead content strategy across formats including digital, social, podcast, video, and long-form storytelling
• Drive editorial planning and content calendars aligned to institutional priorities and key moments
• Lead organic and paid social strategy in close coordination with marketing and admissions partners
• Translate institutional goals into compelling, audience-centered narratives
• Ensure storytelling elevates student experience, faculty expertise, career outcomes, alumni success, and real-world impact
• Collaborate closely with the marketing and creative strategy functions to align messaging, targeting, and execution
• Build scalable, repeatable content systems, templates, and workflows
• Use analytics and performance data to guide content investment, optimization, and experimentation
• Other duties as assigned

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees